GAO-03-838R Page 1 Defense Management 

United States General Accounting Office 

Washington, DC 20548 

June 17, 2003 

The Honorable John Warner 

Chairman 

The Honorable Carl Levin 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Armed Services 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Duncan Hunter 

Chairman 

The Honorable Ike Skelton 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Armed Services 

House of Representatives 

Subject: Defense Management: Installation of Telecommunications Equipment in 

the Homes of Volunteers

This letter responds to a requirement in the National Defense Authorization Act for 

Fiscal Year 20001

 that we review the Department of Defense’s (DOD) use of authority 

to install telephone lines and any necessary telecommunications equipment in the 

homes of persons who provide voluntary services for the military. These volunteers, 

in addition to their other social service activities, provide a link between military 

units and the families of servicemembers deployed away from home. The legislation 

required us to submit the results of our review within 2 years after the department 

issued implementing regulations. The department issued its regulation in March 

2002.2

 This letter discusses (1) the extent of the military services’ use of the authority 

and (2) the internal controls that have been established to ensure equipment is used 

only for authorized purposes. 

In performing our work, we talked with officials from the Office of the Secretary of 

Defense and each military service’s family policy office to obtain information on the 

current and expected use of the telecommunications authority and the internal 

controls over any funds expended under the program. We also requested that Army, 

Navy, and National Guard family policy officials query a limited number of their 

volunteers in areas with high deployments to determine the extent that the 

telecommunications equipment has been installed in the home of volunteers. We also 

 

1

 Pub. L. No. 106-65, section 371. 

2

 DOD Instruction 1100.21, Voluntary Services in the Department of Defense, March 11, 2002. 
Page 2 GAO-838R Defense Management 

talked with various service officials and several volunteers about the 

telecommunications equipment used to perform volunteer activities. 

Results in Brief 

The military services report they have made little use of the legislative authority to 

install telecommunications equipment in the homes of volunteers. While DOD has 

issued implementing guidance, the services have not issued their own guidance. It is 

not clear to what extent issuance of service guidance will lead to increased use of this 

authority. Perhaps more significantly, as alternatives to in-home installation, some 

military components have increased their authorized use of cell phones, provided 

volunteers with telephone credit cards, and permitted access to phones at volunteer 

offices. Several family policy officials said that these alternatives are easier to 

manage than in-home installation and would likely limit the future installation of inhome telecommunications equipment. In addition, various service officials told us 

that servicemembers’ access to calling cards and various other means of 

communication, including e-mail, has facilitated communications between deployed 

servicemembers and their families. Air Force officials told us they do not use 

volunteers, as the Army and the Navy do, to maintain contact between deployed 

personnel and their families; so they have no current plans to use the authority. 

The services are relying on existing internal controls to ensure authorized use of 

telecommunications equipment by volunteers. Under these provisions, Army, Navy, 

Marine Corps, and National Guard Bureau officials told us they reimburse volunteers 

for phone calls made from their homes if the volunteers provide proper supporting 

documentation, such as itemized monthly phone bills. Likewise, various service 

officials told us that representatives from their units typically review monthly cell 

phone bills before they are paid. Service family policy officials3 noted that, if 

telecommunications equipment were installed in volunteers’ homes, a representative 

of the approving official would review the supporting documentation before the bill 

would be paid. 

Based on information obtained suggesting limited current and expected use of the 

authority, we concluded our review and are not making any recommendations. 

Background 

During the mid-1990s, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower 

and Reserve Affairs became the DOD proponent for installing telecommunications 

equipment in the homes of Navy and Marine Corps volunteers. Navy officials saw a 

need to provide the Navy’s and Marine Corps’ primary volunteers with relief from a 

perceived burden of over-using their personal telephones to perform volunteer 

activities and not always being reimbursed for any added costs. Navy officials felt 

that a second phone line, installed by the local phone company, in the volunteer’s 

home could alleviate this burden. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

Year 2000 authorized DOD to install telephone lines and any necessary 

telecommunications equipment in the private residences of persons who provide 

 

3

 Volunteer programs are under the direction of component family policy offices. 
Page 3 GAO-838R Defense Management 

voluntary services for the military components including the Coast Guard. DOD 

issued implementing regulations in March 2002. 

Services Have Rarely Used the Authority 

for In-Home Telecommunication Services

Our review indicates that use of the legislative authority to install 

telecommunications equipment in individual volunteers’ homes has been very limited. 

This was confirmed in our direct contact with volunteers and officials and query 

results from three volunteer groups, through which we determined only one piece of 

telecommunications equipment had been installed in the home of a volunteer. 

There are several reasons why the authority has had or is likely to have limited use. 

First, although DOD has issued its implementing guidance, the services have not 

issued their guidance. Officials from the Army and the Navy said that the authority is 

not yet a well-known benefit in the volunteer community. Officials from the Army, 

the Navy and the Marine Corps said that their implementing guidance has been 

developed and should be approved within the next 6 months; however, what impact 

this may have on usage is not clear. Secondly, and perhaps more significantly, 

volunteer program officials in the Army, the Navy, and the National Guard said that 

the services, under existing authority,4 are increasing their use of cell phones and in 

some cases telephone credit cards because they are easier to manage. As a result, 

they expect limited installation of telecommunications equipment in the homes of 

volunteers. In addition, various service officials told us that servicemembers’ access 

to calling cards and various other means of communication, including e-mail if 

available, has facilitated communications between deployed servicemembers and 

their families and could reduce the need for in-home installation. Air Force officials 

told us they have volunteers; however, they are not used to stay in contact with 

deployed units as Army and Navy volunteers are. Thus, the Air Force has no current 

plans to use the authority. 

Our work identified only one piece of telecommunications equipment installed in a 

volunteer’s home. The Navy paid to have a fax machine installed in the home of a 

Navy volunteer who was staying in contact with a deployed Navy frigate. However, 

the volunteer stated that because she uses the fax machine infrequently for her 

volunteer duties and the cost is nominal, she has not sought reimbursement from her 

command. This volunteer also noted that her command provided her with a cell 

phone, which she uses regularly, to perform her volunteer duties. 

Information made available from selected Army, Navy, and National Guard units 

showed that alternatives to in-home installation are more often used to provide 

telecommunications services for volunteers: 

• A family policy official from the Army’s Southeast Region in Atlanta, 

Georgia, queried volunteers at Fort Bragg and Fort Stewart and found 

no Army-provided telecommunications equipment installed in their 

homes. At Fort Bragg, some volunteers are reportedly provided cell 

phones at a cost to the Army of about $30.00 a month per cell phone. 

 

4

 10 U.S.C., 1588(e). 
Page 4 GAO-838R Defense Management 

• A Norfolk, Virginia, area Navy official queried about 55 volunteers at a 

volunteer meeting and found that 8 had been provided cell phones by 

their local command and 1 of these volunteers also had a Navyprovided fax machine, which we discussed earlier. One Navy volunteer 

estimated her cell phone charges, which are paid by the Navy, at about 

$40.00 a month. 

• The Chief of Family Programs at the National Guard Bureau queried 

eight state volunteer programs5

 and found that no National Guardprovided telecommunications equipment was installed in any 

volunteers’ homes. These states use other methods, such as providing 

family policy office phones or prepaid phone cards for long distance 

calls and reimbursing calls made on the volunteer’s home phone, as 

alternatives to in-home installation.

Services Are Relying on Existing Internal 

Controls to Prevent Abuse

Family policy officials are relying on existing internal controls6 to ensure any funds 

expended by volunteers for telecommunications are appropriate. Currently, the 

Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the National Guard Bureau reimburse 

volunteers for phone calls made from their private phones if the volunteer provides 

supporting documentation, such as itemized monthly phone bills. We were told that 

service officials review this documentation before each bill is paid. This internal 

control procedure is also used to control the authorized use of cell phones provided 

to volunteers. Service family policy officials stated they would rely on the same 

procedures for any telecommunications equipment that was installed in a volunteer’s 

home. Basically, the bill would either go directly to the command or the volunteer 

would have to submit supporting documentation. In either case, we were told the bill 

would be reviewed at the local level before it is paid. 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

In providing oral comments on a draft of this letter, a representative of the Office of 

the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness concurred with our 

findings. 

Scope and Methodology 

To obtain information on the military services’ use of the authority, we interviewed 

officials from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and 

Reserve Affairs, the Secretary of the Navy’s Office of Family Policy and the Navy’s 

Personnel Center, the Army’s Office of Family Policy at the Army Community and 

 

5

 The National Guard Bureau surveyed volunteer programs in Arkansas, Massachusetts, New York, 

Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Florida, Kentucky, and Iowa. 6

 Internal controls are set up to provide reasonable assurance on the part of managers that resources 

are used consistent with the agency’s mission and that they are protected from waste, fraud, and 

mismanagement. 
Page 5 GAO-838R Defense Management 

Family Support Center, the Secretary of the Air Force’s Office of Family Matters, and 

the Marine Corps’ Family Team Building Branch. In addition, we interviewed the 

Chief of Family Programs at the National Guard Bureau. We did not include the 

Coast Guard in the scope of work. We obtained information about the use of the 

authority by requesting that three volunteer program officials who work in highly 

deploying areas query their volunteers about this issue. The officials used various 

informal means to collect the information, which involved discussions with or 

contacting numerous service volunteers in the Norfolk, Virginia, area; Fort Bragg, 

North Carolina, and Fort Stewart, Georgia, areas in the Army’s Southeast Region; and 

numerous volunteers from eight state programs in the National Guard. We also 

talked with various service officials and several volunteers about the types of 

telecommunications equipment used to perform volunteer activities. 

To determine the types of internal controls currently being used, we reviewed service 

guidance dealing with volunteer programs, family policy, or management controls, 

and interviewed Army, Navy, and National Guard family policy officials on the 

controls for reimbursing volunteers for phone calls made from their personal home 

phones or service provided cell phones. In addition, we interviewed officials from 

the services’ family policy offices to determine internal controls that might be used if 

telecommunications equipment were installed in a volunteer’s home. 

We performed our work from November 2002 to May 2003 in accordance with 

generally accepted government auditing standards. 

-------------------------------------- 

We are sending copies of this letter to the Secretaries of Defense, the Army, the Navy, 

and the Air Force; the Commandant of the Marine Corps; and the Office of 

Management and Budget. We will also make copies available to others upon request. 

In addition, the letter is available at no charge on GAO’s Web site at 

http://www.gao.gov. If you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact 

me on (202) 512-8412. Key contributors to this assignment were Michael Kennedy 

and Richard Meeks. 

Barry W. Holman, Director 

Defense Capabilities and Management 

(350296) 
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